- I went downstairs to pick him up,
and the words that they said -
I remember every word they said.
They said, "Where have you been keeping him?"
That was at nearly six and a half, he was.
- Ever since I was young, my grandad was very
strict with me on what I was doing
outside of football, at home and stuff like that,
even in school.
You know, he was passionate. He wanted
me to get where I am today.
I can remember a few games where he got banned
on the sideline. I think we lost against Stoke,
I think he came on the pitch and was shouting at us.
I think I was like 12 ... 12 years old.
He's shouting like, we're not fit to wear this shirt,
stuff like that.
So, obviously, we're like 12 years old, we're young,
and I think he got into an argument with one of
the Stoke player's parents, you know, at the time, so....
I could tell he was very passionate
back then, and he still is now.
He played rugby when he was younger,
and he was representing Great Britain in powerlifting.
So he was keen to get me in the gym from a young age.
I remember him going to the training ground
and asking the coach at the time, Tony Whelan,
if I could start doing gym sessions
in the back garden at home. He was
like, "Nah, not at 10 years old."
The way I was developing back then, I was small, so....
He's got paving down all over the garden.
He's got one shed full of weights and gym stuff,
and another shed full of drinks and food
and snacks and stuff like that.
At that time he used to bring the
weights onto the paving and we used to do sessions together,
even though I was at a young age, so....
I don't know if it was bad for me at the time or not.
I just got along with it, and it would try
and help me one day.
Yeah, that's the one, isn't it?
- That's the one. That's the one.
That's the main man, there. That's him, isn't it?
The main man.
- Look at my little head.
- He actually said that you wouldn't
fully flourish until you were about 22 or 23, right?
- I remember him saying it in the meeting.
I think it was me, my dad, my grandad was there.
At a young age that can kinda put pressure on you
to go and reach them goals.
But no matter what, if you work hard
and believe in your ability and believe in yourself,
you get where you want to be.
Look at the size of the ball.
- See the size of the ball like that?
And you were doing step-overs, weren't you,
when you were younger?
- I think it was like under-16s....
I think my dad and my grandad went to see the
coaches about like contracts and stuff like that.
It was kinda devastating. Everyone else was
getting pro contracts, and I didn't
get like a main contract, so....
It hit me hard but, you know,
the determination and hard work,
you know, eventually paid off.
After my debut, I think, all the
texts was flooding in, and stuff like that.
But there was more of like congratulations, but
in a "I feel sorry for you" kinda way
that you got injured. And like I said,
you know, it was upsetting for my family at the time.
You could see how hard they worked,
to kind of build you up into the person you are
to get, you know, to where you was. So, you know,
they was all there that day and, you know,
I could imagine them, as I was walking out
to Old Trafford, with smiles on their faces.
You know, maybe a few cried. I think my
brother, Louie, cried.
It's moments like that that you've gotta save, yeah.
And so you look back and think how proud
must he be now if he was proud back then?
You're just ready to go home and get
a Maccies, aren't you?